Brady Hoke gives his first press conference after he was appointed by athletic director John Currie as the Vols' interim coach on Sunday after Tennessee fired Butch Jones.
Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

What if everyone involved in the search for the University of Tennessee's next football coach were gathered in one place for Thanksgiving dinner?

Where would they go? To Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett's house, of course.

At least that's the scenario the mayor and U.S. congressional candidate imagined and played out in a series of entertaining tweets Thursday.

UT Knoxville Chancellor Beverly Davenport, Athletic Director John Currie and ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, whom many have speculated could be Tennessee's next coach, as well as others presumably involved in the coaching search were all present at the fictional Thanksgiving dinner.

The scenario unfolded after one Twitter user asked the mayor whether Gruden was having dinner at his house.

It wasn't true, but Burchett said in an interview that he was "in a turkey coma" Thursday and wanted to have fun with his response. More than 1,000 people liked his initial response and it had been retweeted 300 times by Friday.

He replied saying that Gruden had just eaten the last piece of pumpkin pie and the story took off from there.

Gruden ate the last piece of pumpkin pie and Peyton is ticked off. I told them to take it outside. @John_Currie and I turned the sprinklers on and are watching them rassle in the front yard. https://t.co/t9k1SukrgZ

The party broke up, though, when Davenport had to leave to get her Black Friday shopping started and Currie had a press conference to get to.

The party is over. Big Jim took @SterlThePearl16 to Black Berry Farm to DJ. Beverly Davenport had to be first in line @Target for the sale. Fulmer is still passed out on the Couch. (Isabel is poking him with a stick) Gruden Peyton @John_Currie had to go to a press conference.

Michael Grider, spokesman for Knox County, said the mayor typically writes most of his own tweets, including the ones posted Thursday about UT, which are typical of the light-hearted approach he often takes on social media.

"Sometimes, I think elected officials take themselves way too seriously and that’s why they kind of lose touch with what’s going on with folks," Burchett said. "I just have a good time (with Twitter) and enjoy the heck out of it. If people are a little down about things going on, they can just click on my Twitter account and get a little humor out of it, a little levity."

A spokeswoman for the University of Tennessee said Friday that the school doesn't have a comment on Burchett's tweets.

"People are just so fired up about UT football and where it’s heading," Burchett said. "They’re fired up about the new athletic director and they think we’re going to get a world-class coach and turn the corner. I was just having fun with it and was glad I could get everyone tickled with it."